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Serpent Newsletter
Serpent NewsletterP.O. Box 954 Mundelein, Illinois 60060 USA
Newsletter for Serpent Enthusiasts September 27, 2018
A Note from the Editor
After the previous April 2018 edition being rather light forcontent, I am gratified that a greater abundance of worthyitems and information has come to light in time for this newedition. There are new materials, information on twoworkshops, plus the usual performances and miscellaneoustidbits. A rare instrument buying opportunity is alsopresented.
As usual, please continue sending in any information on pastor future performances, sightings, related videos and audiorecordings, music and book publications, etc.
I have been investigating the possibility of starting to printthis newsletter with color photos. I had hoped that thegreater infiltration of color laser printers into common usewould mean that there might be a negligible price increase toswitch to color. However, all print shops I investigatedestimated a printing cost increase of 300-400%, so this is notgoing to happen with the printed newsletters any time soon.
Your generous subscription donations are always needed andappreciated. Please consider when you last sent in acontribution and send another!
Paul Schmidt
Workshops
● Serpentarium 2019
The Serpentarium is a biennial gathering of all who areinterested in the serpent and related instruments, havingbeen held in recent years in Cornwall, Oxford, and nearEdinburgh. This time it will be in a new location,Dorchester, Dorset, England on 25-27 May, 2019. Included
will be massed group sessions led by Phil Humphries, plusopportunities to play in smaller ensembles, and our aim is tostimulate enthusiasm for the instrument whilst having fun.PDF’s of the music will be available in advance, and Phil isworking on including some new arrangements of tunes fromthe Thomas Hardy manuscripts. Hardy is Dorset’s famousauthor who mentions the serpent on a number of occasionsin his novels. He and his family were also musicians andtheir musical manuscripts are to be found at the DorsetCounty Museum in Dorchester.
The venue will be The Durnovaria Band Hall, Kings Road,Dorchester, DT1 1NH, Saturday May 25th starting at 10:30AM through Monday the 27th concluding at 6:00 PM. Areception and playing session is also arranged for Fridayevening (May 24) from 6:00 PM for those who can make it.
Tea/coffee and a light lunch will be provided Saturdaythrough Monday. You will be required to organize your ownbed and breakfast and evening meal (local pub). There are anumber of bed and breakfast establishments/hotels and guesthouses in Dorchester (the nearest is only a five minute walk)from £40.00 per night. A list can be forwarded by email forthose interested in attending. Dorchester also has many pubs,restaurants and Bistros throughout the town.
Dorchester is accessible by car, with plenty of free roadsideparking near the venue, plus direct coach/bus or rail travelfrom London, and the nearest airports are Bournemouth,Bristol and Exeter.
Phil is trying to keep the cost of this event as low as possibleat around £150 per person, and to get a rough idea ofnumbers it would be very helpful if those interested in thisevent could contact Phil as soon as possible by email,preferably before 30th November 2018. No firmcommitment need be made at this early stage in planning.Phil’s email address: [email protected]
For those thinking of arriving early or leaving late, otherattractions in Dorchester include: Dorset County Museum(Thomas Hardy and other literary figures, ‘Jurassic Coast’
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and the county’s history), Hardy’s Cottage and ThorncombeWood, birthplace of Thomas Hardy, and Max Gate,designed and built by Thomas Hardy in 1885; he lived hereuntil his death in 1928. The Keep Military Museum, built in1879, now the Devonshire and Dorset Regimental Museum.The Dinosaur Museum (the only museum in mainlandBritain dedicated purely to dinosaurs), TutankhamunMuseum (meticulously recreated Tutankhamun treasures),Shire Hall where the trial of the Tolpuddle Martyrs was heldin 1834.
Thomas Hardy’s cottage, an attraction near the siteof the 2019 Serpentarium
● 4th “Serpent Journey”, Switzerland, April 12-15, 2018
We had a great time during the recent “Serpent Journey” inLes Bois, Switzerland, under the supervision of StephanBerger and Michel Godard. There were four serpentteachers, Michel Godard, Patrick Wibart, Volny Hostiou,
and David Partouche, and 25 serpent players. There wereworkshops/ateliers, a conference by Bruno Kampmann, animprovisation workshop by Nathalie Forget, a player of theondes Martenot [an early electronic musical instrument,essentially a keyboard controlled relative of the Theremin,often used by Olivier Messiaen in his compositions], and afinal concert in the beautiful church (collégiale) of SaintImier.
After a first part of ensemble music featuring all the serpentplayers, we could listen back as Patrick Wibart, VolnyHostiou and David Partouche played from the Jean BaptisteMetoyen diminutions on the plain-chant and ensemble musicfrom his Méthode pour l’éducation du serpent 1807/1810.What an emotion to finally be able to feel all the beauty ofthis music; they played beautifully! The Choeur des anges(Choir of Angels), a quartet with the four teachers togetherwas a hit! [Editor: Michel sent a sound file of thisperformance, and it was marvelous].
The third part was dedicated to new music and worldpremieres. Thérèse Brenet wrote Clair obscure for 10serpents, marimba and ondes Martenot, Natalie Forget (thenew ondes Martenot teacher at the Paris Conservatoire)composed a piece for all the players, Fée des serpents (FairySerpents), leaving a lot of space for free improvisation, andMichel Godard wrote a tutti piece Princess/Mother to endthe concert. Stephan Berger, who is not only an amazingserpent maker, but also a great serpent player, improvisedLooking for the Lemon Tree with Nathalie Forget andMichel Godard. You can listen to the entire concert onStephan Berger’s web site (serpents.ch) atserpents.ch/veranstaltungskalender/?lang=en. You can alsowatch Canal Alpha TV, listen to radio RTS onserpents.ch/media/?lang=en.
Participants at the 4th Serpent Journey
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The concert program began with a tutti serpent ensemble,directed variously by Michel Godard, Patrick Wibart, VolnyHostiou, and David Partouche. Their first selection wasEhre sein Gott by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, and nextwas Passamezzo pour les Cornets by Pierre FrancisqueCaroubel / Michael Praetorius, then Veni Creator by Jean deBournonville, and closing with Ballo delle Ombre byMauricio Cazzati. Next on the program was a serpentquartet comprised of Wibart, Hostiou, Partouche andGodard, in participation with a men’s choir drawn froml’ensemble vocal d’Erguël, directed by Philippe Krüttli.They began with a plain-chant, Reconstitution desdiminutions de Jean Batiste Metoyen, then Kyrie pour lestrès-grands solennels by Claude Philippe Projean, and JeanBaptiste Metoyen’s Diminution sur le plain chant pour leSerpents; Regina caeli (temps de Pâques), Audi benigneConditor (temps du Carême), Haec Dies (Vêpres du jour dela redirection), Chœur des Anges à quatre Serpents, andStatuta dectro Dei (hymne de l'Avent).
The concert continued with a more creative serpentensemble of serpentists Godard, Stephan Berger, Wibart,Nathalie Forget on ondes Martenot, and Christine Krütli onpiano. They began with the Swiss premiere of ThérèseBrenet’s De bronze et de lumière (Godard played soloserpent), then VIB performed by Nathalie Forget on theondes Martenot, and Looking For the Lemon Tree withForget’s ondes Martenot and both Godard and Berger takingturns as solo serpent. Next was Clair Obscur for tenserpents, marimba and ondes Martenot, by Thérèse Brenet;Wibart got the serpent solo on this. The concert concludedwith Fée des serpents by Natalie Forget and Princess(Mother) by Michel Godard, both pieces using the tuttiserpents.
We are looking forward to the next serpent journey in 2020,with many more surprises.
submitted by Michel Godard
Etudes consciencieuses sur de nouveaux instruments deM. Sax (The conscientious study of the new instrumentsof Mr. Sax), by François Bouchot, from Le Charivari
New Materials
● Quatuor da Forestier a Verdi (Quartets from Forestierto Verdi); CD recording featuring the period instrumentbrass quartet Ensemble Ottoni Romantici (Romantic BrassEnsemble), with Jonathan Pia and Michele Santi on cornetsand trumpets, Mauro Morini on trumpet and trombone, andCorrado Colliard on trombone and ophicleide. Musièpoca #MEPCD-006. Obtained from Amazon.
This recording only just came to light, although it came outin 2010. It is performed by the Italian period brass quartetEnsemble Ottoni Romantici using a combination of cornetand trumpets having early valve systems (e.g. Stölzel),trombones both slide and rotary valved, and a C ophicleideby Sonier of Paris (1836). The title refers to the composersof the selections, Joseph Forestier, Gaetano Donizetti, PadreDavide da Bergamo, Joseph Jean-Baptiste Laurent Arban,Vincenzo Bellini, Franz Peter Schubert, Johann KasparKummer (incorrectly given as Gotthelf Heinrich Kummer inthe CD liner notes….see the two-part article “Kummer-nundrum” in the April and September 2016 issues of thisnewsletter), and Giuseppe Verdi, all working in the mid-to-late 1800s. All pieces not originally composed for brassquartet have been arranged by Jonathan Pia. This appears tobe the only available commercial recording by thisensemble.
The album begins with Forestier’s Quatre Quatours de ‘IPuritani’, a set of four movements (march, andante,andantino, allegro moderato) published around 1860,inspired by Bellini’s opera I Puritani (The Puritans),although the liner notes state that only the fourth movementis actually traceable to the opera, specifically A te, o carafrom Act I. The instrumentation used on each track is notspecified, although the bass part is clearly being performedon ophicleide. Next is Donizetti’s Una furtive lagrima fromL’elisir d’amore, originally performed in 1932. This famousaria has been repurposed here as a melancholy duet betweenSanti’s solo cornet and Morini’s solo trombone, to anaccompaniment by the ophicleide and second cornet. Adagioper tromba is a recently rediscovered composition of Verdi
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from when he was a youth, probably written for keyedtrumpet, and here is set as a nice bel canto style solo trumpetselection, performed by Pia.
Davide da Bergamo was a Franciscan Friar who wasrenowned as an organist and organ tester, and friend ofDonizetti. He was also an avid composer but was dissatisfiedwith much of his work in this regard and is believed to havedestroyed much of his many compositions, so that relativelyfew survive. His Elevazione in re minore (D minor) wasoriginally written as a liturgical piece for organ. Next isArban’s Fantasia sul Nabucco di Verdi (Fantasy on Verdi’sNabucco) which resets nearly all of the opera’s aria ‘Anch’iodischiuso un giorno for brass quartet. Some of the cornet andtrumpet playing on this track is quite virtuosic. The baritoneduet Suoni la tromba from Bellini’s opera I Puritani is sethere for two cornets, with an underlay of rapid and excitingpatter by the intrepid ophicleide and trombone. Schubert’sexpressive song An die Musik, Op. 88 #4 in D is next takenup by Morini’s solo trombone, nicely supported by a delicatecornet duet above and subtle ophicleide below.
Ensemble Ottoni Romantici
Colliard’s ophicleide gets to shine on Kummer’ Variationsfor Ophicleide, in what may be the most minimalist settingof the piece so far recorded; we are accustomed to piano andorchestral accompaniments, but even supported here by onlytwo cornets and trombone, the piece works well. CorradoColliard’s name has not surfaced thus far in the ophicleidediscography, but he is clearly a very accomplished player,and this is a nice realization of the piece. [Colliard is notunknown to us however, having been listed in John’sOphicleide Directory,www.jrdhome.force9.co.uk/ophicleide.htm, for many years.He is a player of sackbut & trombone, euphonium and basstrumpet, serpent and of course ophicleide.]
Next is another selection from Verdi’s La Traviata, this timethe baritone aria Di Provenza il mar, il suol, performed hereby Morini’s solo trombone. The album concludes withanother Arban setting music from a famous opera, this timeFantasia sulla from Bizet’s Carmen. It weaves togetherseveral of the most well-known themes of the opera. Allplayers in the quartet get a chance to show off on the variousthemes.
This recording is not only a very nicely done brass quartetperformance, but it also serves as a nice showcase for thesounds of vintage brass instruments, and specifically thewell-played ophicleide sound is apparent nearly throughout.CD liner notes are in English, Italian, French, Spanish andGerman. Highly recommended.
● Doux Dèsirs; CD recording featuring Ihab Radwan onoud and vocals, Michel Godard on serpent, tuba and electricbass. Dodicilune # DISCHI Ed362. Obtained from Amazon.
This is a recent CD album by the prolific Michel Godard, incollaboration with oud player Ihab Radwan, being releasedin 2017. Godard here uses his Berger serpent and Yamahatuba, while Radwan performs on ouds made by AlbertMansour, Salih Bilgi, and Cengiz Sarikus. The album givesthe impression of being a rather free-form improvisation,although the selections are given compositional credits.There is no apparent ‘program’, so each selection can beinterpreted in its own right. Although there are only twoperformers, some means of achieving a multi-track effect areused, quite probably live looping, so each performer appearsto be playing multiple parts.
The first track is a slow and meditative piece by Godard, Sul’onda d’amore. It begins with a plaintive oud solo withelectric bass accompaniment. The serpent then comes in,still with the electric bass line audible, and this gives asorrowful melancholy to the sound. Next is In the Grotte byRadwan, a busy middle-eastern theme on oud, with a drivingjazzy tuba accompaniment. Godard returns to serpent withan avant-garde solo accompanied by oud on thecollaboratively written Intro to Tenderness, followed byRadwan’s gentle Tenderness which features his oud solo,backed up by parallel lines on serpent. Il Goloso, a virtuosicserpent extravaganza, is next, and Radwan’s oud solo Dahabfollows, Godard’s cantabile serpent entering part waythrough.
Godard’s piece Acqua Alta is a brief and beautiful serpentsolo with a minimalist oud accompaniment, and there issome looped electric bass that appears near the end.Radwan’s Serbia is a quiet selection that features Godard’sjazz tuba improvisation, and his Malato d’amore showcaseshis looped oud and scat vocalise duet. Next is Love At First
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Sight, is a short dialogue between serpent and oud, while Ala folie takes the same instrumental pairing and raises theexcitement level. The album concludes with a Godard piecethat has been featured on other recordings, the excellent ATrace of Grace, which lets the performer demonstrate hisvirtuosic serpent playing skills; the electric bass is loopedfor accompaniment, and Radwan’s oud takes over the themein the second half. This is a pleasant, gentle listeningexperience, and gives ample opportunity to study the soundof two unusual instrument sounds, serpent and oud. There isalso a brief video about the making of this album onYouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBsaOo40pUk
● En El Amor; CD recording featuring vocalist NatasaMirkovic, percussionist Jarrod Cagwin, and Michel Godardon serpent. Carpe Diem Records # CD-16313. Obtainedfrom Amazon.
This is a recent release from 2017, featuring traditionalSephardic songs from south-east Europe, but here given ajazz trio treatment and recorded in the mesmerizingacoustics of the former synagogue of St. Pölten, Austria.Mirkovic is a singer and actress from Bosnia-Herzegovina,now based in Vienna, performing with the Graz Opera,Volksoper Vienna, and many other theater, opera andmusical productions. Jarrod Cagwin is a percussionist, anauthority on various ethnic styles, who has also collaboratedwith Michel Godard on the CD recording Hungry People.
Mirkovic writes in the CD liner notes, “En El Amor is mypersonal collection of magical stories with songs fromSpain, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.It takes you away on a voyage of love, marriage, longing,desire, betrayal and war.” The first track is Madre unmanseviko from Sarajevo, followed by Buenas nochesHanum Dudu from Saloniki (Thessaloniki), both being sungwith percussion accompaniment. The third track is Ken keretomar konsejo, a duet for singer and serpent, with atraditional Bosnian text and a tune by Bosnian bornAmerican guitarist, composer and singer-songwriter FloryJagoda (curiously listed in the liner notes as Jagoda Flory).Next is La Tore, an energetic and entrancing song fromSarajevo, with an improvisational serpent noodling around
in the background. Two selections from Bosnia-Herzegovinafollow, Anderleto and Porke yoras, the former mostlyresembling a shepherd’s lonely song of love and death,while the latter begins with a mournful serpent solo, brieflytaken over by the vocals, before returning to an avant-gardeserpent improvisation.
The next two selections originate from Sarajevo. Nochesnoches, buenas noches begins its tale of longing with asimple vocal, but becomes more emphatic when joined bythe serpent and percussion. Ken ez esto has lyrics thatsuggest a riddle in haiku form, sung in a tracelike style whileGodard’s serpent flutter-tongues and glides in the distance,and the cymbals drift across the stereo image. The Turkishselection Poko le dash la mi konsuegra seems to be aboutwishing to know someone without complications. Up next isthe Spanish named (but musically sounding more Greek)Lavaba la blanca niña, although the liner notes state that itoriginates in Saloniki; the lyrics suggest coming to knowone’s self through love of another. Sarajevo offers Durmedurme, a more contemplative selection, almost a lullaby, andthe serpent line is a nice compliment to the theme.
El El O is an original composition by Godard and Cagwin, aquiet tune appropriately about silence. From Izmir, Turkeycomes a tune, here with Spanish lyrics, Oh! Que tiempo muyhermozo, an unaccompanied vocal love song. From Sofia,Bulgaria comes the energetic closing selection Oy ke Buenake fue la ora, giving all three performers opportunity toshine. The reader may notice that the listed country of originof the various selections does not necessarily match thelanguage of the lyrics; this is an album that transcendsnational and traditional boundaries. CD liner notes are inEnglish and German. Note that the liner notes’ track listingpage references a ‘bonus track’, Manzanika korolada,which may purportedly be downloaded from the recordcompany’s webpage for this CD; at the time of this writing,there was no such provision available on that webpage. Avideo of Noches noches, buenas nochas may be viewed onYouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?V=TEYmG5LWvms&feature=youtu.be, or by searching forMirkovic | Godard | Cagwin – “Noches Noches”.
English military serpent datingfrom 1798. Unusually, the bocalis covered in sewn leather. Thebrass rods which reinforce thespaces between the curves arepainted red. The scallopedbrass bell collar is engravedwith the date 1798 and theinitials “A C Y”. Below theCollar is a separate brass plaqueEngraved “A.C. / Yardley”,Presumably the name of theowner, not the maker.
From a catalog of the dealerWurlitzer Bruck, New York City
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Christopher Monk Instruments(c/o Nicholas Perry)224 North StreetLutonLU2 7QNEngland
Phone: +44 (0)1582 457 992<[email protected](see Christopher Monk Instrumentswebsite URL at lower right)(serpents, early cimbasso, bass horns)
David HardingThe Early Music ShopSalts Mill, Victoria RoadSaltaireWest Yorkshire BD18 3LAEnglandPhone: +44 (0) 1274 288 100<www.earlymusicshop.com>(resin serpents)
Serpents Ribo(c/o Pierre Ribo)Rue Van Oost, 401030 BruxellesBelgiumPhone: 0032 497 574 496<pierre.ribo@>souslesplatanes.be>(Serpents)
Kaiser Serpentshttp://www.kaiserserpents.com(fiberglass serpents after Baudouin)
Serpentones LopezJuan Lopez Romera, makerhttp://serpenton.com/(wooden serpents & cornetti)
Wessex TubasJonathan Hodgetts (UK)Andy Loree (USA)www.wessex-tubas.co.ukwww.wessex-tubas.com(ophicleides, quinticlaves)
S Berger SerpentsStephan Berger & Erna SuterAtelier de CuirLes Prailats 18CH-2336 Les BoisSwitzerlandPhone: 0041 (0) 32 961 1188<www.serpents.ch><[email protected]>
(serpents, both wood and carbonfiber, serpent cases, accessories)[formerly Wetterberger serpents]
Christopher Monk Instruments(c/o Jeremy West)+44 (0)1388 526999<www.jeremywest.co.uk/ christopher-monk- instruments.html><[email protected]>(Cornetti)
Sam Goble Historical Mouthpiecesphone: +44 (0) 77 8056 4370<www.samgoble.com><[email protected]>(cornett and serpent mouthpieces)
Build an experimental serpentfrom plans via<www.serpentwebsite.com>
Getting SerpentsHere is the list of Serpent makers who have made themselves known to us.Many instruments are available through dealers, and all makers will dealdirectly with individual customers.
Monstre Ophicleide for Sale
The owner of the famous “Monstre Ophicleide”, madeoriginally by Robb Stewart for Phil Palmer, has decided it istime to find a new home for it. It is an 11 key, contrabassophicleide in E-flat. It is in beautiful condition and playswell. It comes with a custom made wooden case, withwheels to ease transportation. This is the same instrumentthat has twice been rented/loaned to major period orchestrasin England for concerts, played both times by Tony George.The owner prefers a new home where the instrument will beappreciated and played, as opposed to a museum situation.There is no fixed asking price at this time; contact the ownerif interested (keep in mind the cost of getting it from NewYork state to your location….it is big). Also available: Anunsigned 9 key ophicleide in C with a circular bocal, and a10 key ophicleide in B flat with an oval bocal.
For more information or to negotiate purchase, contact RonJohnson, 250 Murdock Road, Cooperstown, NY, 13326,phone 607-434-9051.
Ron Johnson with his Robb Stewart MonstreOphicleide, and his C ophicleide for scale
Monstre Ophicleide in its custom made case
C ophicleide with circular bocal
Bb ophicleide with oval bocal
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About the OrganizationThe Serpent Newsletter is distributed according to two regions,each with its own representative. All financial contributions andnew subscriptions should be sent to the proper regionalrepresentative. Announcements, editorial items, comments andphotographs should be sent to the editorial address.
(United Kingdom & Europeancontinent)
Nigel NathanBoswedden HouseCape CornwallSt. Just-in-PenwithPENZANCECornwall TR19 7NJEngland
Phone & Fax: +44 (0)1736 788733email: <[email protected]>
(USA, Canada, other countries, Editor,Treasurer)
Paul Schmidt, editorDick George, treasurer
Serpent NewsletterP.O. Box 954Mundelein, IL 60060USA
phone (no fax): 847-356-7865email: <[email protected]>webpage: www.serpentwebsite.com
Suggested minimum contribution for non-European subscribers is$20 for 4 issues (2 years); these subscriptions are required forindividuals, and institutions that manage to receive the newsletterwithout contributions are doing so entirely at the discretion of theregional representative. As of April 2012, all newslettersdistributed in the European region are electronic, not printed, andthere is no subscription charge. European region readers maychoose a printed hardcopy option, in which case rates for UKsubscribers are £5 for 2 years, for Europe £6 or 10 Euros. For thetime being, newsletters distributed elsewhere remain in printedform. Non-UK/EU contributions may be made using PayPal, sentto the email address [email protected]
Where Serpents Gather
● The Serpent in the Lititz Moravian Collegium Musicum
I was delighted to participate in the (re)inaugural concert ofthe Lititz Moravian Collegium Musicum this September,2018. Lititz, Pennsylvania, is still one of the more activeMoravian communities in the United States, and the earlyAmerican Moravians who settled there in the mid-eighteenthcentury brought a well-developed musical tradition withthem from Europe. The Lititz collegium was formed circa1765, and its original music library has been preserved aswell as many instruments including a beautiful early 19th
Lititz serpent
century, painted church serpent. Dr. Jeffrey Gemmell, LititzMoravian Congregation’s Director of Music Ministries, hasre-formed this string and harmonie ensemble that included,certainly during the early 19th century if not before, aserpentist/bass horn player. For the inaugural concert,repertoire was selected from the original library includingcompositions by Moravian composers—Johannes Herbst,John Christian Bechler, and Andreas Romberg—as well asworks by J. C. Bach, Luigi Boccherini, and Louis von Esch;the serpent played bass as part of the bassoon section. Forthis concert, I commissioned the preparation of a modernedition of the Military Divertimentos by von Esch (for flutes,clarinets, horns, bassoons, with a specifically-designatedserpent part). This edition is now available, distributedgratis, at harmoniemusik.org/editions.html
The Lititz Collegium is one of the few ensembles in theUnited States where the identity of one of their serpentistsfrom the 19th century is documented. Francis Lewis Lennert(1805-1872), clock and watchmaker of Lititz, played theserpent during the 1830s and 1840s (and perhaps earlier). Hewas described as being very eccentric and, alas, wasexcommunicated from the Moravian community in 1850 for“evil conduct” with a barmaid at the town’s inn, the GeneralSutter Inn. Yet, he was buried in the traditional Moraviancemetery, God’s Acre, in what may be seen as some sort ofreconciliation with the Lititz Moravian community.
For years I had searched for an item from the Lennertsilversmith shop and, just one month before the concert, Ifound at auction a circa 1830 coin silver spoon by FrancisLennert, with a period engraved script monogram andlegible maker's mark, that I was able to purchase. I havedonated the item to the Lititz Moravian Museum, and thespoon will be placed on display next to the Lititz serpent.
submitted by Craig Kridel
● Leonard Byrne wrote, “I played my Bb ophicleide at theHarvey Phillips Northwest Big Brass Bash in Oregon July 7.Played PDQ Bach Suite for Bassoon and Tuba, using theophicleide on the bassoon part. I thought it worked well buthave not heard recording. I also did a little busking for thefood bank; a video clip is here”,www.facebook.com/SpokaneSymphony/videos/10155940180088241
The Soldier-Singers,cartoon by Henriot.The caption explains,“They add somecanteen-singers tolend the regimentmore gusto”(L’Illustration,June 26, 1897, p. 8)
thanks toWill Kimball
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● Constitution Day at Colonial Williamsburg
A concert honoring Constitution Day (September 17, 1787,the day the U.S. Constitution was signed), featuring earlyand contemporary brass instruments, was supposed to havebeen held Monday afternoon, September 17, 2018, atHennage Auditorium in the museum at ColonialWilliamsburg in Virginia. Hurricane Florence intervened.Several of the brass players were military and weredeployed to North Carolina to help with saving ourneighbors, their homes, families, and pets. In just a fewhours Gabe Stone, multi-instrumentalist, along with DavidGardner, nationally recognized Scottish fiddler, assembled anew Constitution Day program, And the Home of the Brave,using serpent, bones, guitars, fiddle, and both their excellentsinging voices, to present an outstanding program to a veryappreciative audience.
The concert opened with serpent, voice, and fiddleinterpreting William Billings’ Chester, written in 1778during the American Revolution. York Fusiliers, a cotillion,followed featuring serpent and fiddle. The cotillion wasdescribed as a country dance, which became the quadrilleand eventually the square dance. The Anacreontic Song (ToAnacreon in Heaven), the tune which we now know as TheStar Spangled Banner, was next. The song was popular inLondon in The Anacreontic Society, named after the ancientGreek poet, Anacreon, who was renowned for his drinkingsongs. The tune, written by John Stafford Smith, was sungby Gabe using the original words. David Gardner playedSoldiers Joy, originally a Scottish tune from 1742. He saidthere are all kinds of versions, this one being played onfiddle, with Gabe accompanying on bones.
For the remainder of the program Gabe used his guitar andDavid his fiddle (and once a guitar), with both singing nowand again. They included Shenandoah, Hard Times ComeAgain No More, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, This Landis Your Land, America the Beautiful, and others. Theafternoon ended with the audience joining Gabe and Davidin Yankee Doodle. Gabe spent some time answeringquestions about the serpent at the end of the program.
submitted by Therese Wagenknecht
Chantres au lutrin (Singersat the Lectern) print by
Henri Brispot depicting aserpent with voices
October 1876
thanks to Will Kimball
● Paul Schmidt was invited to play serpent for a session ofearly instrument players in the Chicago area town ofDowner’s Grove in late August, 2018. A number of guestperformers augmented the players from a couple of regularChicago area early music bands. The music was simplysight-read a few times for each selection, before moving onto another piece. One of the guests, normally a fine regionalFrench Horn player with many groups, and a master solohandbell player, showed up as a recorder player, andproduced a sheaf of new arrangements for exactly such adiverse band. The twist was that they were all of Karl King‘circus marches’, not exactly the most idiomatic possiblechoices. But the typical rambunctious King tuba parts werelots of fun for the serpent!
● Bernard Fourtet wrote about his recent activities, andsent some related photos. “One photo comes from the organof Cintegabelle (near Toulouse, France) where I participatedin several concerts with cornettist Serge Delmas and organistEmmanuel Schublin. Another was taken in a little Romanchapel in Granejouls (Tarn, France) where I performed aconcert with my madrigal ensemble l’Echappée Madrigalein June. Next is a part of the Young Musician Medal I got avery long time ago, and where is engraved an ophicleide.
Left - Serpent on the organ of CintegabelleRight - Serpent behind cross, from Granejouls chapel
The next two were taken during the fête de la musique, at theMusée (Museum) des Augustins, Toulouse France, on June21, Compagnie de l’Ophicleide enchanté. The show wascalled Eve s’amuse au Paradis, with Anne-Lise Panisset,singer & dancer and myself (as the Serpent), playing onophicleide and Python covered-serpent. The next one datesfrom July 29, in Lourde (not to be confused with theLourdes), but instead a very small village in the Pyrenees,France), during a show after Mark Twain Adam’s Diary.Dominique Bru was Eve and Gilles Marchezin was Adam. I
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had to improvise the Temptator’s music, in open air, and itwas a great banquet for all European mosquitos…..The lastone is taken in Narbonne cathedral portal (France), where Inoticed an engraving of a serpent intertwined with otherinstruments. I also sent a photo of a cherub playing theserpent, from the organ at Albi cathedral, France.”
“This summer was quitebusy, with some interestingand difficult concerts, forinstance in Auch Cathedral,with organist JeanChristophe Revel andcounter tenor Marc Pontus,in a double program (oneorgan = 440 Hz, andanother = 415Hz),chansons or madrigalsdiminués, another inVabres l’abbaye (Aveyron,France), organ = 415Hz, onthe sackbut and serpent,with organist EmmanuelSchublin and cornettist
Serge Delmas; then, variousconcerts on sackbut…”
“I also sent a photo unrelatedto my performances, takenfrom Match, an old Frenchmagazine, dated January 19,1939. We see HenriCasadessus, président de lasociété des instrumentsanciens, with daughter. Hewas an instrument collector,and we see several serpentshung on the wall.”
Bernard Fourtet, as The Temptator, plays serpent in Lourde
Left - Serpent engraving at Narbonne cathedralRight - Serpent playing cherub on Albi cathedral organ
Instrument collector Henri Casadessus with his daughter
More Exciting News
● New Insights for our Understanding of the Serpent fromClifford Bevan
I encourage all recipients of this newsletter to read a recentlypublished essay by Clifford Bevan about French serpentnotation that is now available online. Originally published inthe International Tuba Euphonium Association Journal, PDFfiles are available atwww.berliozhistoricalbrass.org/itea.htm
Bevan’s essay appears in two parts: “French SerpentNotation: Part 1—Pourquoi?” and “It Might Be C to You,But It’s My . . . Part 2—Some peculiarities of pitch andabnormalities of notation.”
In my introduction to the essay, I write, “As an editor of theHistorical Instrument section since 1992, I have sought toinclude pieces of interest for the ITEA membership and forothers who are involved in historical brass research andperformance. When Cliff Bevan would send me, throughoutthe years, one of his many essays, I would take delight inattempting to anticipate how he would treat the topic since,as had been the case, I was always somewhat familiar withthe basic area of inquiry. This essay, however, leaves mespeechless as I now realize that one of our most basicassumptions about the serpent is outright incorrect. Bevan’sresearch serves as a testimony of not only exploring
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unknown practices and discovering new insights but, also,guiding (if not rewriting) our general assumptions about theorigins and development of low brass instruments.
submitted by Craig Kridel
● The Bern University of the Arts hosted a Romantic BrassSymposium in February 2009. Part of the event focused on19th century brasses, especially the ophicleides. As part ofthe associated concert, held in the college’s Grand ConcertHall, students Roland Fröscher and Fan Xing played anophicleide duet, Engebert Brepsant’s Duett für 2Ophikleiden. This may be viewed on YouTube atwww.youtube.com/watch?v=IWRfU7a59r4&feature=youtu.be
● In mid-September, Paul Schmidt was in the Richmond,Virginia area and had the opportunity to visit with friendsRobert & Tra Wagenknecht and Connie Palmer. Robertshowed his recently completed 3D (tenor) serpent, whichwas originally mentioned in the September 2016 edition ofthis newsletter, and was far from complete at that time. The3D printing process (it is made from ABS plastic) is slow,and depended on availability of the 3D printer at the localhigh school’s ‘maker space’ facility, and then there was thetedious and fiddly process of aligning the many sections andholding them as the plastic edges were chemically weldedusing solvents. And the six finger holes were manuallyundercut after all else was complete. But the instrumentcame out well, and Tra, who is a tenor serpent (andquinticlave) player, gave a brief and impromptu performanceon it, and the sound was nearly indistinguishable from theMonk tenor on which it is based. The main difference inperformance seems to be due to the cylindrical bocal section.Robert has already modified the design on his computer toincorporate holes for alignment pins on the edges of eachsection (which should much ease the assembly process), andprinting a proper conical bore bocal, and other smallimprovements. At issue is that the first few sections of thenew design have been printed using a different plastic, onewhich will need to be glued, instead of chemically welded,and there are many questions about whether this will bestrong enough with simple flat section edges, or if rabbetjoint style edges need to be incorporated into the design, orif a return to printing in ABS is really going to work best. Nigel Nathan and Thelma Griffiths
Robert Wagenknecht, Connie Palmer, Paul Schmidt, Tra W.
● Nigel and Thelma have been running Boswedden Housefor very nearly 20 years and have made welcome peoplefrom all over the globe, not least the serpentists attending thebiennial Serpentaria in 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011 & 2015. Theyears are taking their toll, especially on Nigel, and Thelmahas some complicated things to do with three familymembers over whom she has Power of Attorney, so theyneed to back off and do just enough undemanding businessto get by - ideally with self-catering groups, includingAirbnb. They also want to thank all those who have come tothe Serpentaria over the years, bringing their own specialbrands of music, humour and general bonhomie. They saythat they will miss the periodic influx of thirsty enthusiasts,which they have greatly enjoyed in the past, but time doesmarch on. Just let's hope that Dorset can provide a worthybrew in 2019…...
3D tenor serpent after assembly
